PARIS, NOVEMBER 19, 2016: (DGW) IMO STATE Deputy Governor , Prince Eze Madumere has recounted how he was thrown into prison by former President Olusegun Obasanjo on trumped up charges.

He made the disclosure in an interview with THE NATION NIGERIA newspapers. Narrating the events, he said , they members of the defunct All Progressives Grand Alliance had booked for the township stadium and later primary school they intended to use for the campaign rally but were shortchanged.

They unavoidably had to make use of another venue and the resultant spillover was actually what brought trouble. The then president , Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, who was invited by the then Governor Ohakim, was pelted with sachet water by supporters of APGA which was blamed on him. In fact he as arrested and charged with inciting the crowd against the President and this eventually landed him in prison before he was granted bail after being held for five days.

Below is an abridged version of the interview with THE NATION newspapers:

Excerpts:

You were reported to be in prison custody before your boss won the election. What actually happened?

It was during the grand finale of our governorship campaign. Then, we were in APGA and the then ruling party of Governor Ikedi Ohakim was PDP. I was heading the campaign of the Rescue Mission. We had sought for and got security clearance to hold our grand finale at the stadium and paid for the stadium. Eventually, the PDP decided to hold their grand finale the same day we were holding our own. They asked them to refund the money we paid for the stadium, saying that they were going to use the same venue.

We went across to where they had township primary school. That is where the governor put a legacy project now known as the Owerri Township School. We paid for the place. But the PDP came again and took over the place, saying that they were using it as their parking lot and there was no other place that was comfortable. We went to our campaign headquarters, which was very close to the Okigwe Roundabout. That was where we set up to hold our grand finale. In the process, we heard that Governor Ohakim had invited the then President Olusegun Obasanjo for their grand finale at the stadium. I was at the ground coordinating our grand finale.

You know that our venue was close to the road and there was bound to be a spillover of the crowd to the road. But they said that when the President’s convoy was passing, it was pelted with pure water, and I was accused of inciting the crowd against the President. Then in the night, they held a Security Council meeting and decided that since they could not get my boss, I should be arrested. That was how they stormed my hotel and arrested me in the night. I spent five days in the police cell. When women and civil society groups stormed the police headquarters, they promised to release me in the morning. But rather than release me, they quickly arraigned me in court the following morning with trump up charges, and without the Magistrate asking our views, I was remanded in prison custody and I spent a total of five days in prison. I was charged with 18 others I had never met in my life. We appeared before six different judges, and every morning, they would go to the house of the Judge we were to appear before and fire shots to frighten him. But with pressure coming from civil society groups, we were eventually granted bail six days before the governorship election.

How do you unwind?

I am somebody who likes to be alone. That is the best way I relax. Once I have my ipad, I will be okay. I just like to be alone and plan myself very well. I don’t drink or smoke. I don’t hang out. I stay out of trouble because one of the biggest challenges I have is that I don’t go anywhere, I don’t visit people. And in my position, when you start hanging out, people will start quoting you out of context, saying the things you never said or did. I didn’t come from any political alliance; that is why I am mostly on my own.